1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a timepiece that has a mechanism such as a sonnerie, a repeater, an alarm, or a timer for producing sound by a mechanical striking action.
2. Description of Related Art
Repeater timepieces that have an internal gong and hammer, and strike the gong with the hammer to make a sound are known from the literature. See, for example, JP-T-2004-525370.
The gong used in such timepieces is a substantially C-shaped metal ring disposed along the inside circumference of the case with only one end of the gong fastened to the main plate by a screw, for example, so that the other end of the gong is free and not fixed. As a result, when the hammer strikes the gong, the gong vibrates and produces sound.
When a gong is used as the sound source, however, the shape of the gong may result in a sound with little reverberation.
We therefore looked for a sound source that can be used inside a wristwatch, a pocket watch, or other small, wearable timepiece and that also produces a unique sound not possible with the related art.
We discovered that a novel reverberating sound that is not possible in timepieces according to the related art can be achieved by using a bowl-shaped sound source such as a bell, particularly a hanging bell.
However, such a bowl-shaped sound source occupies more space than the gong described above and requires some ingenuity to fit inside a small timepiece such as a wristwatch.
In addition, while the gong is simply fastened by tightly securing one end to the main plate, the method of fastening a bowl-shaped sound source greatly affects its tone and reverberation characteristic.